The Larry Sanders Show

Rip Torn has pleaded guilty to breaking into a bank while drunk and carrying a loaded gun. We bet Arthur would never have come up with that crazy idea on 'The Larry Sanders Show.'

Prosecutors say the Emmy-winning Torn pleaded guilty to several charges stemming from the incident that happened earlier this year: Reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and the illegal carrying of a firearm. He was arrested back in January after police found him inside a Bancorp branch in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Torn was given a two-and-half year suspended sentence and three years of probation. Conditions of the sentence include a ban on possessing guns as well as random drug and alcohol tests.

Every year, the Academy of Television Arts and Science hands out hundreds of Emmys in categories that cover every inch of TV minutiae except "Best use of eyebrows by a cable newscaster" and "Best catering." One major category of meta-TV awesomeness, however, has been unjustly ignored by the Academy: shows within shows.

These fictional blocks of television programming creep up in a variety of situations -- a character may work as a TV personality in the narrative, or we may just see characters watching the tube while they're chilling on couch. They may fill up just 30 seconds of screen time, but shows within shows have to be flawless in order to drive the story and serve their often-comedic purposes. So here's our attempt to recognize the best TV shows within TV shows.

The success of Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon recently inspired me to assess the ten best movies about television. TV has been a fertile source of entertainment for filmmakers. The TV turf is also a popular setting for TV shows, and there have been some all-time great shows about the tube. Here are nine that I think warrant special recognition -- in no special order.

1. The Mary Tyler Moore ShowIt all started at WJM-TV in Minneapolis. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the perfect sitcom blend of home and work, and work happened to be the local TV news team. As Mary Richards, the associate producer, Mary Tyler Moore was the single girl America loved because she was real, funny, gorgeous and lovable. At work, the news was mangled nightly by Ted Baxter, the quintessential news reader anchorman who loved every dulcet tone of his voice and had no idea what he was reporting. In perfect irony, when the show came to an end, most everyone at WJM -- Lou Grant, Murray Slaughter, Sue Anne Nivens, Mary -- were fired. Only Ted was spared!

You can immediately guess which shows are on the list: Seinfeld, The X-Files, Sports Night, Oz, The Sopranos, The Larry Sanders Show. There are some shows that I certainly would never put on such a list, but I can understand why they were chosen, such as Party of Five, Dawson's Creek, and Ally McBeal. I think this is probably yet another example of "best" being confused with "popular" or "buzzworthy." Actually, I would never include Ally McBeal on any sort of best of list.

But what really confuses me? There are two major shows, two shows that are often mentioned in a "best of" list (not just the 90s, but all-time) that aren't on the list! Can you guess what they are? Both appeared on NBC, and one of them was created by someone who created one of the above shows.

But this isn't any old list – our Top 40 TV Shows of the '90s is just the first in a new series of countdowns in which we'll put our AOL Television seal of approval on the top 40 series of every decade.

Every other month we'll tackle another decade, going all the way back to the '50s, to recall the best comedies (hello 'Lucy'), the best prime-time soaps (do you remember who shot JR?), the best cop shows, animated series and groundbreaking TV shows.

So kick off 50 years of silver-screen bests with the greatest shows of the '90s, including everyone from 'Beavis,' 'Buffy' and 'Simpsons' to 'Freaks and Geeks' and teens on the 'Creek.'

Peter Falk's daughter, Catherine, filed for conservatorship of her father's affairs. She claims the actor's condition has gotten so bad that he "requires full-time custodial care for his health and safety."

So far the family hasn't released an official statement confirming the daughter's claims and nothing has been confirmed or denied on the actor's official website. Either way, everyone here at TV Squad wishes him and his family all the best.

AOL Television has compiled a list of the 50 Best TV Comedies -- Ever, this week revealing numbers 50-41. Inspired by what they did, I've decided to list my favorite sitcom sidekicks, those funny foils that oftentimes make the star shine even brighter than you might have thought. Coming up with just a ten-pack hasn't been so easy. Many times, I'd look at a show and think, "No, it's more of an ensemble. There isn't one sidekick." Falling into that category were B.J. and Trapper John on M*A*S*H. Neither were Hawkeye's sidekick, really (any more than Radar was). Same thing with Friends -- they were all each other's sidekicks. Also, on The Odd Couple, Oscar and Felix were equal; neither was a sidekick. Ditto Two and a Half Men and Laverne & Shirley. Also, because it's my list, I decided not to include married couples -- sorry Rob and Laura, Ricky and Lucy, Archie and Edith.

Whew, after all that, here, in alphabetical order, are the ten I love -- within my own parameters! Feel free to comment with your choices, if your favorite isn't on my list.

TMZ.com has a new mug shot of Rip Torn, formerly of The Larry Sanders Show, that is downright hilarious. He was allegedly driving drunk (which is not funny) in New York over the weekend. Rip, with his hair flying to the right and a confused grin on his face, posed for the camera when cops took his mug shot. This is Rip's second arrest for drunk driving. In 2004, he crashed his car into a NYC taxi. Despite his outlandish behavior at the cop shop, Rip was found not guilty.

According to Reuters, Ray Romano is in talks to star in a new comedy series on HBO. The show would be single-camera (no audience) and star Romano as a billionaire who has six months to live. He reportedly pitched the show idea to HBO months ago, but talks between the network and FOX productions have only recently begun. Initial negotiations are for ten episodes. Dennis Klein, co-creator of The Larry Sanders Show, has already been tapped to write the show. It's being executive produced by the Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran, executive producers of 24.